10 days in Burma (Myanmar) - men in sarongs (longyi)

[burmans]

It was a horse and cart Threshing rice in the fields

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OK. Frankly you were lucky, I found the ox and cart very uncomfortable and wasn't much fun given I have a back that is susceptible to bumping (not sure if horse and cart would be much better). I did like Inwa though, maybe not as great as Bagan but equally much less touristed.

 

[RooFlyer]

OK. Frankly you were lucky, I found the ox and cart very uncomfortable and wasn't much fun given I have a back that is susceptible to bumping (not sure if horse and cart would be much better). I did like Inwa though, maybe not as great as Bagan but equally much less touristed.

The horse and cart was just as uncomfortable. Really bumpy and quite cramped.

The fare was 8,000 kyat ($8) which I thought was a lot, but of course you didn't mind, going straight to the old guy who drove us ( guide said he was the owner too).

As an example of inflation driven by increasing tourism .... Last year the price as 6,000 kyats . The river cruise we did, price $35; last year $25.

 

[RooFlyer]

The ferry took us to Inwa, also called Ava, the site of royal palaces off-and-on since the 1300s. Being made of wood, there's not much left of them now, except some expanse of brick walls and mostly filled in moats. It was last occupied in 1841.

There are stupas dotted around, and a still functioning monastery, but mostly its fertile farming land, growing rice, bananas and melons. To get around its either walking, biking or the aforementioned horse carts.

The Bagawa monastery stands on 267 teak logs/posts, the largest 9 feet around. The day we visited, a senior monk was teaching two young students in a room off the main chamber (left, below). There are some very nice carvings, but the ones outside are suffering from the weather.




Then across the river to hilly Sagaing, a tranquil place with vary many temples and stupas. At one, we admired the 30 Buddhas lined up, each with a door to the outside. By this time we were really flagging and no-one remembered what it was called.





Another temple gave us some nice views:




Then, just as we were longing to go back to the hotel for a well earned drink, our guide pulled one out of her hat. The Tilawkaguru 'Cave' monastery (not a real cave but a built / shaped as a series of tunnels) is kept locked and is not open generally. We had to go and get someone from the Archaeology office to open it up for us. Some magnificent murals. they had been whitewashed over at some point by a monk who thought their colour would be distracting to prayer (?in the dark?) but fortunately most of that has been able to be taken off OK. I think UNESCO has looked after the cleaning.

Although in the dark, and we only had torchlight, you can see the colour and magnificence of the artwork, which I recall dated from the 1600s. Unfortunately the dark caused a lot of my pics to be out of focus (camera shake) but here a couple.

Note in the top, the people are chewing betel leaves (right cheek enlarged). Each of these fields of view would be 30 to 50cm.







Really worthwhile visiting, but you'll have to plan ahead.

 

[RooFlyer]

One more shot of the murals; its a wonderful experience. And then the 'cave' and the outside.






Then the last drive back to the hotel. The new (2010) bridge and, well, this is how your chicken curry probably starts out.




Next morning , a 50 min drive to the airport; its set w-a-a-y out in the countryside, but the road there is pretty good. Security check to get in the building, then I had to bid the guide farewell at the security check prior to check-in (passengers only). Escorted to check-in by a baggage guy and its a rather basic affair. Check-in ladies working off laptops and the boarding pass has flight details hand written and gate # stamped, and manages without my name :shock:.

Then to exit immigration where the guy taps and mutters and flicks back and forth through the passport for about 3-4 minutes before ultimately looking at me, checking the photo page, then gives it a good stamp, and I'm through! the terminal is moderate size for a regional airport, new (2010) and gloomy. The light fittings each hold 3 fluorescent tubes, but there is only actually one in each. Pretty basic, a few coffee shops, a line of Duty Frees, and waiting lounges. There's free Wi-Fi :shock: :shock: but its so weak I can't download even e-mail headers. No matter.

Eventually my Thai flight appears and even though there is a row of unused airbridges, they stop just short and pax are unloaded via a 10 second bus ride in an old bus. We boarded the same way - as Star Gold I got priority boarding ... down the airbridge, down the stairs and into the old bus where I waited for the rest of the pax to join me .

Then farewell to Mandalay and Myanmar. The Beginning of "Mandalay" by Rudyard Kipling:

By the old Moulmein Pagoda, lookin' eastward to the sea,
There's a Burma girl a-settin', and I know she thinks o' me;
For the wind is in the palm-trees, and the temple-bells they say:
"Come you back, you British soldier; come you back to Mandalay!"

Come you back to Mandalay,
Where the old Flotilla lay;
Can't you 'ear their paddles chunkin' from Rangoon to Mandalay,
On the road to Mandalay,
Where the flyin'-fishes play,
An' the dawn comes up like thunder outer China 'crost the Bay!





Bangkok and a date with dr.ron and mrs.dr.ron to come!

 

[drron]

Cant wait for that!
You didn't tell us how easy it was to become a millionaire.$300=

.

.

 

[TomVexille]

Cant wait for that!
You didn't tell us how easy it was to become a millionaire.$300=

.

.

Haven't been to Vietnam lately?

~$57 will make you a millionaire there

 

[RooFlyer]

Cant wait for that!
You didn't tell us how easy it was to become a millionaire.$300=

.

.

pffft. $300 bucks ... surely that only gets you K300,000 'chat'. Gotta keep working dr.ron Mind you, I did spend $350 in lacquer ware in Bagan (including 15% discount, given readily).

 

[JohnM]

pffft. $300 bucks ... surely that only gets you K300,000 'chat'. Gotta keep working dr.ron Mind you, I did spend $350 in lacquer ware in Bagan (including 15% discount, given readily).

Double pffft. This was about USD3 worth in Zimbabwe in 2007. And later about 3 US cents would have made you a millionaire.

 

[ketsuzei]

Double pffft. This was about USD3 worth in Zimbabwe in 2007. And later about 3 US cents would have made you a millionaire.

View attachment 39330

I wouldn't even get out of bed for that.

 

[RooFlyer]

I wouldn't even get out of bed for that.

View attachment 39347

You win! Boy, do I feel inadequate ...

 

[JohnM]

You win! Boy, do I feel inadequate ...

So do I (story of my life... ).

 

[robd]

I wouldn't even get out of bed for that.

View attachment 39347

Dr. Evil, I presume?

 

[RooFlyer]

The TG Economy flight MDL-BKK went OK. Landed on time at 1:55pm local and immigration and baggage was painless.

I asked in a thread a while back about options for getting into town, and thank-you to those who gave suggestions and experiences. My itinerary changed after that, and I just had the remains of the afternoon after arriving and getting into town to do any sightseeing. Last time I was in Bangkok was 1994, en route to Saudi Arabia for work and it was just a day too; I must admit I wasn't really focussing on the BKK stay as I was on my way home and it was a flight schedule enforced stop-over. Dr.ron suggested Orient Express for the transfer but they weren't available, so I thought, stuff it, just get the (expensive) hotel car. It was a BMW 5 series, with drinks, chokkies and other, but BKK traffic is BKK traffic and I quickly gave up any idea of sightseeing.

I had booked the Sofitel So Bangkok on points, a Club room overlooking Lumpini Park. it looked pretty good, but it was just an overnight stay. I was meeting dr.ron and mrs.dr.ron for dinner - thank God! - as I had no ideas about sustenance that night otherwise.

The Sofitel I must say is pretty flash. Club rooms I think from about the 20th floor, and I was on L26. Probably amongst the nicest rooms I've ever had, outside a suite.




Views were excellent! Lumpini Park:




A couple of Siamese Fighting fish for 'entertainment' :



I arrived and checked in by about 4pm, did some e-mailing, then went to the Club lounge for a drink. Horrors! No (free) drinks until 5pm, but tea or coffee, and a decent buffet. I was a bit miffed at that, so retired to the bar on the 9th floor with my 'welcome drink' voucher and had a very adequate double G&T to calm the karma.

I managed to stretch that out to 5pm when I (and several others) de-camped to the lounge.




Quite annoyingly, in spite of about 4 staff members and 4 tables to serve, I somehow fell under the radar and ended up contriving to walk over and to help myself to a white wine. They intercepted me of course, and after asking for my room number three - yes, three times, I eventually got a drink.

At 6.20, having been assured that it would be no more than 30 mins walk to the restaurant dr.ron had chosen, I hit the streets first through Lumpini Park. It was dark by this time and I contrived to take a wrong turn, so I was about 10 mins late. Next post!

I got back to the hotel at 10:30pm and went to the lounge for a night-cap. Noooooo ... closed! Really? Is that normal for Club lounges around here? Piss poor, in my opinion.

 

[drron]

I wouldn't even get out of bed for that.

View attachment 39347

Still doesn't win.At home I have a 1 and 10 trillion dollar Zimbabwe note.I believe it went to a 100 trillion dollar note before Zimbabwe finally gave up.

 

[JohnM]

Still doesn't win.At home I have a 1 and 10 trillion dollar Zimbabwe note.I believe it went to a 100 trillion dollar note before Zimbabwe finally gave up.

Dang! I'm feeling even more inadequate.... I guess you had to pick your week for going to Zim . Maybe they stopped the nonsense when no more zeroes would fit across the note.

 

[ketsuzei]

Dang! I'm feeling even more inadequate.... I guess you had to pick your week for going to Zim . Maybe they stopped the nonsense when no more zeroes would fit across the note.

They actually redenominated the dollar three times, taking three zeros off the first time, ten off the second time, and 12 off the third time.

So a dollar by the end of that was worth 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 of the original dollars. All within around two and a half years.

 

[RooFlyer]

My one evening in Bangkok was spent very enjoyably in the company of mrs.dr.ron and dr.ron, who booked a new branch of Paste, still in the process of its soft opening.

Its been much more comprehensively documented by dr.ron here .. so here are a few of my own versions of some of the dishes;







So to summarise my experience in Myanmar / Burma

* Safe to be there, and generally less hassle than, say, its SE Asian neighbours. I never felt uncomfortable either on the road or in back streets (oh, yes, the once, in ChinaTown).

* eVisa incredibly easy to get.

* Very diverse country; although I stuck to the 'touristy core', you can still see the variations in cultures. Going further afield, which isn't challenging, there would be very great differences.

* Changing quickly. Get in while the going is good.

* No problems with access to ATMs, and Wi-Fi coverage expanding quickly ("only just" at the moment).

* Costs rising quickly, but still cheap compared to neighbours.

* If you have issues with the Junta, they are still around; most large businesses are owned by cronies and I suspect will continue to be so.

* Infrastructure OK, but improving.

* If I were to go again, I'd cover the SE (Mon culture; Thai-Burma railway history) and NE (hills/mountains). Outside the areas I visited the hotel standard goes down quickly, although my guide said there were some '5 star' hotels in these areas (probably more like 4 star). Apparently some great beaches along the Bay of Bengal in the west.

* Best experience: Balloons over Bagan. Worst experience: Nothing too dire ... walking through Yangon Chinatown got unpleasant.

Jay-zoo-bah!

 

[RooFlyer]

Just started plotting up my pics (GPS located) and thought this was a cool image. Shows the trace of the balloon ride over Bagan, starting at top and drifting to the south. Number are the numbers of pics in that cluster (it groups the pics along any route). You can see that fortunately, the airport isn't much of a problem - although each pilot is in contact with ATC via radio (and we hear the ATC broadcast).

Ours was one of the eastern-most routes that day.

 

[amaroo]

Excellent TR Rooflyer.

Probably won't get there until 2016 ... 2015 is pretty much booked solid for us. SWMBO grandfather was one of the many POWs forced to work on the Burma-Thai railway. It will be a good experience for his great grandchildren and us.

 

[Alanslegal]

Great report I did spend a day in Yangon in 2012 and though I didn't get to see much (downtown and the Shwedegan Temple) for my limited time there, I did vow to go back soon before the flock of tourists grow. Now to plan and fit it back in but the world is soooo big and there is soooo many places I want to go to and 2015 and parts of 2016 have already been set aside for other countries